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Court Takes Broad View of Warrant Scope in Computer Search

By Jonathan Byrne

US v. Williams: Authorities in Fairfax, Virginia were investigating a series of emails sent to a local church school which indicated the writer's desire to engage in sexual activity with some of the boys there. The investigation led to an email account in the name of Williams's wife. As a result, authorities obtained a search warrant for Williams's home, searching for evidence of Virginia offenses of sending threatening or obscene messages via computer. While conducting the search, one officer opened a lock box in Williams's garage and discovered a machine gun and silencer, neither of which, upon inspection (to determine if the gun was loaded), had a serial number. Officers also seized a DVD which, it was later revealed, contained child pornography...continue to full post

Full post as published by Fourth Circuit Blog on January 25, 2010 (boomark / email).